TRENT UNIVERSITY 
History 460: Stalin and Stalinism 
2006-07 
  
Professor O. Andriewsky				Secretary: Patricia Heffernan 
Lady Eaton College North 118				LEC South 101.3 
748-1011 ext. 1235					748-1011, ext. 1575 
Office Hours:	Weds. 4-5 pm				9 a.m.-4 p.m. 
E-mail: oandriewsky@trentu.ca			E-mail: history@trentu.ca 

J
osef Stalin remains one of the most controversial figures of twentieth century history, a man whose name is associated with the darkest horrors of Russian and Soviet history as well as with its most remarkable triumph—the victory over Hitler in WWII.    For decades, historians have been attempting to understand Stalin and the nature of the system he presided over.  Intellectual battles have been waged between various schools of interpretation, each seeking to explain exactly what happened in the Soviet Union between 1928-1953 and why.  Perhaps the most notable of these encounters featured the opponents and proponents of the concept of totalitarianism, a concept first formulated at the height of the Cold War by Carl Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski. In the 1980s, a group of revisionist historians boldly challenged not only the totalitarian model, but the entire thrust of Western scholarship on Stalin and Stalinism as well.  Rejecting the notion of workers, peasants, and intellectuals as merely passive objects of Stalin’s policies, they have emphasized the complex interactions between “the masses”, the intelligentsia, the Kremlin, and Party members and officials. 

Since the late 1980s, the study of Stalin and Stalinism has undergone yet another revolution.   For the first time, a free and public discussion of the Stalin Era emerged under Gorbachev. The attempt to remember what happened, how it happened, and why it happened became a national project intimately connected to the political transformation—and, ultimately, collapse—of the Soviet Union.  Related to this—and, in some ways, no less important—was the opening of the archives in the Soviet Union. The result has been the publication in recent years of a number of major studies—the very first, in fact—based on extensive archival research.  In this respect, the study of Stalin and Stalinism as a full scholarly enterprise has only just begun. 

This course will focus on the period between 1924 and 1939 and will explore the phenomenon of Stalinism from a variety of methodological perspectives.  We will study several major episodes of the Stalinist Era:  the Great Industrialization Drive,  Collectivization, Famine, the Cultural Revolution, and Terror.  We will also examine the experiences of “ordinary” people as a way of understanding the complexities and contradictions of the Stalinist experiment.  The larger aim of the course is, of course, to consider the nature of historical explanation, how historians, intellectuals and “ordinary” people make sense of the past. 

Course Requirements and Grading
HIST 460 is an intensive reading, writing, and discussion seminar.  Full and regular preparation and participation are mandatory.  There are no lectures in the course and participation constitutes 25% of the final mark.  Each student in the course is expected to lead discussion once during the course.  Students are also required, as part of their participation mark, to give a brief (10 minute) presentation on a book they have chosen from a list distributed by the instructor (further information will be provided in class).
Writing requirements include weekly journal assignments (4-5 p. each, 20-25 pp. in total) in the first term and a book review (15 pp or 3750 words) in the second term.  The first journal installment is due in class on September 27-28, the second on Nov. 1-2, and the final installment will be due on December 6-7.   The book review will be due on Monday, April 9.  Please note: HIST 460 does have a final exam (details will be provided in class).

Grading in History 460 will be divided as follows:

		Seminar Participation	25	%
		First Term Journal	30	%
		Second Term Essay	25	%
		Final Exam		20	%

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is considered an extremely serious academic offense and carries penalties varying from failure in an assignment to debarment from the University.  All 460 students are expected to familiarize themselves with the definition of plagiarism as established in Trent University's Policy on Academic Dishonesty before submitting any written work.  The policy statement is available on request from every department or college office or from the Registrar's office.

Please note: Students are required to keep all notes for their essays and may be required to hand them in.  Failure to do so can result in an F on the essay.

Textbooks 

The following books are required and can be purchased at the Bookstore. All required readings for this course will be on 3-hour reserve at Bata Library as well.

Edvard Radzinskii, Stalin : The First In-Depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia's Secret Archives 
Stephen Kotkin, Magnetic Mountain: Stalinism as a Civilization
Terry Martin, The Affirmative Action Empire : Nations and Nationalism in the Soviet Union, 1923-1939
Lynne Viola, Peasant Rebels under Stalin: Collectivization and the Culture of Peasant Resistance 
Miron Dolot, Execution by Hunger 
James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State : How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed
Jeffrey Brooks, Thank You, Comrade Stalin! 
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch 
Sheila Fitzpatrick, Everyday Stalinism: Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times: Soviet Russia in the 1930s
Vladimir Voinovich, The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin  

Seminar/Reading/Assignment Schedule

Fall Term
Sept. 13-14	Introductory meeting

Sept. 27-28	The Heroic/Demonic Approach
Edvard Radzinsky, Stalin : The First In-Depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia's Secret Archives 

Sept. 27-28	***First Journal Assignment Due in Class***

Oct. 11-12	The Great Industrialization Drive
	 Stephen Kotkin, Magnetic Mountain: Stalinism as a Civilization 

Nov. 1-2	Minorities
	Terry Martin, The Affirmative Action Empire : Nations and Nationalism in the Soviet Union

Nov. 1-2	***Second Journal Assignment Due in Class***

Nov. 22-23	Collectivization
Lynne Viola, Peasant Rebels under Stalin: Collectivization and the Culture of Peasant Resistance 

Dec. 6-7	Famine
	Miron Dolot, Execution by Hunger
	H-Russia Discussion on the Famine in Ukraine

Dec. 6-7	***Third Journal Assignment Due in Class***

Winter Term 
Jan. 17-18	Stalinist Modernization Considered
	James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed

Jan. 31-Feb. 1	Public Culture
	Jeffrey Brooks, Thank You, Comrade Stalin!

Feb, 14-15	Terror and the Gulag
	Alexander Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch

Feb. 28- 	“Ordinary Life”
March 1	Sheila Fitzpatrick, Everyday Stalinism: Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times: Soviet Russia in the 1930s

March 14-15	 “Subversion”
	Vladimir Voinovich, The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin

March 28-29	In the Stalin Archives
	CBC Ideas, In the Stalin Archives (audio)

April 9		***Book Review Due in History Dept. Office***